In-person in Los Feliz | Online across California and Florida
BRAINSPOTTING
SOMETHING IN YOU IS STILL HOLDING ON
You know your story and in so many ways, you’ve come so far.
But you might carry deep grief that hasn't found its way through, anger that you’re afraid to let yourself fully feel, or an exhaustion deep in your bones from always holding it together.
There may also be areas where you just feel stuck, as well as moments that catch you by surprise. When someone pulls away and the fear is immediate and out of proportion to what just happened. When you find yourself apologizing before you've done anything wrong, having a hard time setting boundaries, or making yourself smaller to keep the peace. When a painful memory surfaces or when the hypercritical voice inside becomes louder than anything else.
You might have a sense that no matter how much you grow, there is something underneath that still needs tending to.
WHY SOME HEALING REQUIRES A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Talk therapy primarily engages the cortex, which is the thinking, language-based part of the brain. That's genuinely valuable work and, and in my opinion, is often a way of “tilling the soil” for deeper work to happen. But trauma isn't stored only in the cortex. It lives in deeper, subcortical structures that govern automatic reactions, emotional responses, and the body's sense of safety, which are structures that language has limited access to. This is why you can understand something completely and still feel hijacked by it.
Brainspotting works differently.
WHERE YOU LOOK AFFECTS HOW YOU FEEL—AND HOW YOU HEAL
Brainspotting is a relatively new therapy that works with a simple concept: where we direct our gaze is neurologically connected to what we hold inside. By finding a specific eye position (called a “brain spot”) that activates trauma, pain, or emotional material stored deep in the brain and nervous system, we can access and process what's stored in these deeper structures directly, without requiring the thinking brain to describe every step. The result is a kind of processing that is non-linear, largely non-verbal, and often reaches material that years of talking hasn’t quite touched.
Brainspotting is more open-ended and meditative than structured trauma protocols like EMDR. It is less about following a defined sequence and more about creating a quality of focused, internal attention that allows your system to move at its own pace. People who are drawn to somatic work, hypnotherapy, meditation, or more subtle healing processes often find it feels immediately familiar. Others come to it having tried everything else, and find that its subtlety and quietness is precisely what allows something to finally shift.
What Brainspotting Can Help With
Brainspotting can be helpful for across a wide range of experiences and concerns, such as:
Trauma, PTSD, and painful experiences
Anxiety, panic, and phobias
Performance anxiety and creative blocks
Grief and loss
The aftermath of narcissistic abuse and difficult relationships
Brainspotting helps you get to the root of where you are stuck.
Who BRAINSPOTTING Is For
BRAINSPOTTING TENDS TO RESONATE MOST WITH PEOPLE WHO:
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If a memory has been processed and the story has been told many times but still there is still a charge to it that won't resolve, Brainspotting goes where cognitive processing can't.
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For some people, repeatedly talking about difficult experiences is stressful and re-activating. Brainspotting processes in a more internal, less verbal way.
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dealing with blocks they can’t explain, or find themselves unable to access presence, spontaneity, or flow. Brainspotting helps you access the deeper roots of these issues.
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and find traditional therapy overstimulating, lengthy, or frustrating. Brainspotting sessions can be gentle and largely nonverbal, with no pressure to produce insights or articulate what's happening.
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Brainspotting is similar to EMDR but often quieter, more internal, and less structured. Many people benefit from both practices.
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Brainspotting's internally-driven and open-ended process may feel like a more natural fit than anything you've tried before.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A BRAINSPOTTING SESSION
We begin by identifying what we're working with: a specific memory, feeling, issue, or body sensation. From there, using a pointer or your own gaze, we locate the eye position that most activates your response to that material. This might feel like a subtle shift in sensation, a slight increase in emotion, or simply a quiet sense of recognition.
Once the brainspot is located, you hold your gaze there while staying present with whatever arises internally. There's often bilateral sound (gentle music or tones through headphones) that supports the processing. You don't need to guide what comes up or make sense of it in the moment. You simply stay present, and allow your system to do what it's naturally designed to do.
Throughout, we track what's happening in the body as well as the mind. We might draw on somatic and body-based practices to support the processing and help the whole system release and integrate. This is where my background in somatic therapy, yoga, and movement-based practice weaves in naturally, adding another layer to what Brainspotting alone can do.
Many people describe the change as a sense of things settling, releasing, and finding their proper place. Not always dramatic, but unmistakable and sometimes profound.
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
Brainspotting integrates naturally with somatic therapy, EMDR, and other trauma-informed approaches. It can be used as a primary modality or woven into other sessions.
If you already have a therapist, Brainspotting can be a great adjunctive treatment to address specific concerns. I'm always happy to coordinate with your provider as needed.
For those who want to go deeper in a concentrated window of time, Brainspotting is also available in an intensive format. You can find more about that on the intensives page here.
FAQs
COMMON QUESTIONS
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No. For many people, this is a significant benefit of Brainspotting. Deep processing can happen with very little verbal narration. Your nervous system does the work without you having to manage or share every step.
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Sometimes processing is quiet or subtle but it can still be meaningful. The absence of dramatic content doesn't mean nothing is happening. We work with whatever your system offers, at whatever pace feels right.
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It varies depending on what you're working with. Some issues resolve in a handful of sessions; complex or more layered trauma unfolds over more time. We can discuss your specific goals during our initial consultation.
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We can work either way. During our consultation call, we can discuss your goals and collaborate together to determine what will work best.
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Yes! This is one of the most common scenarios. We treat the work as a focused adjunctive piece, and I'm happy to coordinate with your therapist before and after if that would be helpful.
Is online Brainspotting effective? Yes. Brainspotting adapts well to video sessions, and many people find that the comfort of their own environment actually supports the depth of the work.
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Yes. Brainspotting adapts well to video sessions, and many people find that the comfort of their own environment actually supports the depth of the work.
IF YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT BRAINSPOTTING
Feel free to reach out for a free consultation. We can talk through what you're working with and whether this approach feels like a good fit.